AEE: Travel, Trip, Journey: What’s the Difference?

Summary

All Ears English Podcast Summary: "AEE: Travel, Trip, Journey: What’s the Difference?"

Release Date: June 14, 2025
Hosts: Lindsey McMahon and Aubrey Carter
Duration: Approximately 17 minutes

In this engaging episode of the All Ears English Podcast, hosts Lindsey McMahon and Aubrey Carter delve into the nuanced differences between the words "travel," "trip," and "journey." This episode is particularly beneficial for intermediate to advanced English learners aiming to enhance their vocabulary and conversational skills related to travel.

---

Introduction to the Topic

The episode kicks off with a listener's question from Antonella, highlighting the common confusion between the terms "travel," "trip," and "journey." This sets the stage for an in-depth exploration of each word's meaning and usage.

• Antonella's Question:
  "What about the difference between journey, travel and trip? I hear you every morning from Italy, sending love, Antonella."
  (04:09)

Defining "Travel"

"Travel" is primarily discussed as a verb but can also function as a noun. It encompasses the act of moving from one place to another, whether it's international or for daily activities.

• Aubrey Carter:
  "As a verb, travel is just, of course, the act of moving from one place to another... It can be about traveling to another country, of course, or just to work."
  (04:56-05:10)

• Lindsey McMahon:
  "I travel to work every day. By car, I guess."
  (05:10)

The hosts note that "travel" can be used flexibly, but regional preferences might influence its application, especially concerning daily commutes versus leisure trips.

• Aubrey Carter:
  "If you say, 'I love to travel,' this is definitely implied that you mean these fun trips visiting other places. This is not talking about your commute."
  (06:08-06:16)

Exploring "Trip"

"Trip" is identified as a noun representing a specific, often planned excursion with a defined purpose. It does not inherently suggest the duration or nature of the activity.

• Lindsey McMahon:
  "Trip is just a noun, a specific instance of... usually it's a planned excursion with a specific purpose."
  (07:42)

• Aubrey Carter:
  "It could be a road trip that they went on last week. Or maybe they went to Thailand."
  (07:56)

The hosts emphasize that while "trip" can denote both short and long durations, it remains neutral regarding the experience's depth or significance.

• Lindsey McMahon:
  "I'm going on a trip this weekend."
  (08:36)

Unpacking "Journey"

"Journey" carries a more profound, often transformative connotation compared to "travel" and "trip." It can refer to both literal travels and metaphorical experiences.

• Aubrey Carter:
  "It can be about travel. It can be usually a longer, more significant, maybe transformative travel experience."
  (08:57-09:17)

• Lindsey McMahon:
  "We're speaking metaphorically. Like in the Connected Communicator course, our listeners go on what we call a journey to fluency."
  (09:46-09:55)

"Journey" is also used metaphorically to describe personal growth or significant life experiences.

• Aubrey Carter:
  "It might have been really negative. There might have been a lot of pitfalls, like, 'Oh, it was quite the journey,' meaning, like, there were some negative things that happened."
  (10:11-10:31)

Additionally, "journey" as a verb is considered outdated and rarely used in contemporary spoken English.

• Aubrey Carter:
  "Journey is used as a verb, but it's a little bit outdated. You'll rarely hear this now in spoken conversation."
  (11:24-11:42)

Practical Usage and Avoiding Redundancy

The hosts advise against using "travel" and "trip" redundantly in a single sentence, emphasizing the importance of choosing one term to maintain clarity and conciseness.

• Aubrey Carter:
  "We would not say, like, 'I'm traveling on a trip this year.' It's really one or the other."
  (08:33-08:43)

Connecting Through Conversations

A significant portion of the episode focuses on using these terms effectively as conversation starters to foster human connections.

• Aubrey Carter:
  "This is such a great connection skill to ask them about a trip they planned. Travel coming up. So fun."
  (16:39-16:53)

The hosts illustrate how asking about recent or upcoming "trips" or "travels" can lead to meaningful exchanges and help build rapport.

Role-Play Exercise

To reinforce the lesson, Lindsey and Aubrey engage in a role-play scenario where they demonstrate the correct usage of "travel," "trip," and "journey."

• Scenario Highlights:

  • Discussing a planned visit to the Philippines to see a friend.
  • Differentiating between the literal trip and the metaphorical journey of exploring one's roots.

• Aubrey Carter:
  "She was on a journey to see where they grew up. Right. So this is a journey about... it's more of an experience."
  (15:30-15:45)

Lindsey emphasizes the common mistake non-native speakers make by using "journey" where "trip" is more appropriate.

• Lindsey McMahon:
  "The biggest mistake to watch out for. I have heard non-native speakers use the word journey when they really mean the word trip."
  (15:45-16:10)

Conclusion and Key Takeaways

The episode wraps up with final thoughts on choosing the right term based on context and the desired connotation. Lindsey and Aubrey encourage listeners to practice these distinctions to enhance their conversational English and better connect with others.

• Lindsey McMahon:
  "Enjoy the Hiawatha Trail. Can't wait to hear the stories Aubrey when you get back."
  (16:53-16:57)

• Aubrey Carter:
  "Enjoy your upcoming trips. Hopefully, you all have some fun summer plans for sure."
  (16:57-17:05)

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

1. Aubrey Carter:
   "Travel is more about connection moments. No perfection needed."
   (04:48)

2. Lindsey McMahon:
   "This is definitely implied that you mean these fun trips visiting other places. This is not talking about your commute."
   (06:16)

3. Lindsey McMahon:
   "Sometimes we say we're on a personal journey to enlightenment or something."
   (09:46)

4. Aubrey Carter:
   "We would not say, 'I'm traveling on a trip this year.' It's really one or the other."
   (08:33)

5. Lindsey McMahon:
   "The biggest mistake to watch out for is using 'journey' when 'trip' is the right word."
   (15:45)

---

Final Thoughts

This episode of the All Ears English Podcast serves as a comprehensive guide to understanding and appropriately using the terms "travel," "trip," and "journey." Through clear definitions, practical examples, and interactive role-play, Lindsey and Aubrey equip listeners with the knowledge to enhance their English vocabulary and foster meaningful conversations about travel experiences.

---

Stay Connected:
For more episodes, study tips, and resources, visit AllEarsEnglish.com and subscribe to the podcast on your preferred platform. Embrace the journey to fluency with connection at its heart!

Transcript

[Aubrey Carter]

This is an Allers English podcast. Travel, trip or journey? What's the difference?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Welcome to the All Ears English podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection. With your American host, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz, and Lindsey McMahon, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, usa. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com subscribe. Do you like to travel? So do we today find out the difference between three key words when it comes to travel and learn which one is a little antiquated in English.

[Aubrey Carter]

At Allers English, our goal isn't perfect grammar. It's something bigger. Human connection. We believe English is more than vocabulary and rules. It's about laughing with coworkers, making new friends, and sharing who you really are. Every episode gives you the tools to connect confidently in real conversations. No perfection needed. If you believe connection is the goal, tap, follow and join us on the journey with five fresh and fun episodes every single week. Hit the follow button on Allers English now and we'll see you in the next episode.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Hey, Aubry, how you doing today?

[Aubrey Carter]

I'm great, Lindsay. How are you?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Good. Any trips coming up in the near future for you? Anything?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, I mean, not too far. This summer I'm headed up to Idaho and I'm very excited. I may have mentioned to you we are going to do the Hiawatha bike Trail.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes.

[Aubrey Carter]

I can't wait. If you guys have ever been to the northwest in the US you may have done this or you may have seen it. It used to be a train track and now it's a bike path because there's no train there anymore. And you're up in the treetops, these super tall pine trees. Wow. It's like a 15 mile just kind of coasting through. And there are like 10 tunnels. One of them is a mile long, so you have to have a light because you're just in pure darkness part of the time.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, sounds a little scary. But you're biking through the tunnel on a bike.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yep. Through the tunnels they shuttle you to the top and then you coast down for like 15 miles. It takes four or five hours. But just the looking at the videos of other people that have done it, it looks so beautiful.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

It's called the route of the Hiawatha. I've always wanted to do it. It's a bucket list item. So I'm excited. I' it this Summer.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Amazing. You'll have to come back and tell us stories on the podcast of how it goes and what adventures you get on. Right, right.

[Aubrey Carter]

Be sure to follow us on social media. I'll post pictures, videos. You can see it. I can't wait.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Love that. Well, today's episode is inspired by a listener question, and this question came from inside the iOS app reviews. Right. This listener, this is Antonella, one of our amazing app users. App listeners gave us a five star review, Aubrey.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. Thank you, Antonella. We appreciate the review. I'm always happy when people know about the app. It's definitely the best place to listen to the podcast. You can search for. We have a really extensive back catalog. That's the best place to search for keywords, episode numbers and listen to past episodes.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes, for sure. Guys, go and check it out. Go to allersenglish.comapp to get the app again. It's on iOS and Android, so whichever device you use, you can download the app and you can start listening for free. Okay. You can listen to the podcast for free inside the app. So check it out. Good stuff, Aubrey. I'm gonna read the question. Okay.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, let's do it.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Hi, Lindsay, Michelle and Aubrey, you are all fantastic. I love your app and your podcast also.

[Aubrey Carter]

Oh, thank you. Yes.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I have a question for you. What about the difference between journey, travel and trip? I hear you every morning from Italy, sending love, Antonella. Wow. That is wonderful.

[Aubrey Carter]

I know. Thank you so much for the review, Antonella, and for the great question. These words interestingly different, but in some ways the same. I'm excited to dive into this.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. And I'm always game for talking about traveling and trips and all that good stuff, because, I mean, for me, that's when I feel the most alive, is when I'm. I'm wandering the world and seeing new things. That's when I come alive. I don't know about you, Aubry, but absolutely.

[Aubrey Carter]

And conversations with everyone. Right. What is more fun to talk about than travel? Nothing.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Right.

[Aubrey Carter]

This is the best way to connect with someone, to ask about recent trips, travel that they have loved. You need this vocab for those connection moments.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. So let's break it down. We'll start with maybe the most straightforward one, the way, the one we hear often. Right. Is travel. Okay. As a verb, right?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes, exactly. So this is just, of course, the act of moving from one place to another. What's interesting is we do use the this a few different ways. Right. It can be about traveling to another country, of course, or just to work, right? Travel.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

Every day.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes, exactly. So I travel to work every day. By car, I guess.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Travel, to work. I suppose for me personally, I use the verb travel by car, to go to work, like a daily commute. Do you? I mean, I tend to use it more for trips. What about you?

[Aubrey Carter]

Interesting. So I'm curious. This is maybe more regional, right? If you're like, I only use this for traveling. If I say I'm traveling, it's to a country. I definitely hear this and I feel like I use it, too, to be like, my talking about my commute, like, you know, how to get to work. Well, sure. You know, I travel, like, once upon a time, I'd be like, I travel to work on the subway.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Travel by train.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, yeah.

[Lindsey McMahon]

It works for both. Maybe it's just personal preference, right?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, could be. And it's possible that it's more regional. Right. Where you grew up, they might use it more often just for, like, international travel, just like an actual trip, or.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Just saying, I love to travel. I imagine many of our listeners are this way, just like us, right?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. And if you say, I love to travel, this is definitely implied that you mean these fun trips visiting other places. This is not talking about your commute.

[Lindsey McMahon]

To work, your morning commute. I mean, that can be a journey, too. Especially in the New York subway, for example. It could be a kind of a journey. Yeah. Different kind of experience.

[Aubrey Carter]

Or you might just ask someone, do you have any plans to travel soon? I think this is one of the best conversation starters. Right. Because what if everyone wants to talk about their upcoming trips? You asked me that at the top of the episode, and that was really fun for me to share about the Hiawatha Trail that I'm going to be able to do.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Of course, of course. People want to share these exciting moments of their lives. So let them do it and then find out if you have something in common, depending on what kind of trip are they going on. Like, if you had said, yeah, I'm going on a Disney cruise, and I'm so excited, I might have thought maybe we're not connecting on that level. Right, Right.

[Aubrey Carter]

We don't have the same, I'm not a Disney cruise person.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Right. So we learn about the person, we see if there's a connection. These are useful conversation starters. Okay.

[Aubrey Carter]

Absolutely. Yes. And travel is used as a noun, and in this it's synonymous with the word trip, which we'll go over next. Right. To say, like, oh, this is the type of travel I love, and maybe it's like you're in first class. So you're telling someone like, yeah, now we're talking. This is the type of travel I love.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, yeah. Another way to learn about someone and their values and their lifestyle.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Do they travel first class or, Or. Or coach.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right, yeah. Right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. Next one is trip. So just a noun, a specific instance of. Usually it's a planned excursion with a specific purpose.

[Aubrey Carter]

Okay, exactly. So, for example, how was your trip? And this could be a road trip that they went on the last week. Or maybe they went to Thailand. Right. It doesn't imply anything. Length of time. A trip could be short or long.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Exactly. Or I'm going on a trip this weekend. So again, this could be. Sometimes you hear like a guy's trip.

[Aubrey Carter]

Or a girls trip.

[Lindsey McMahon]

This expression where adults will go with their own friends. Like with their friends of the same gender sometimes. Right. Just go to go party or hang out or bond.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right, exactly. Or I don't know if I'll be able to go on any trips this year. One thing that was interesting that I, as I was thinking of examples, we would never use travel and trip together. We would not say, like, I'm traveling on a trip this year. It's really one or the other. Even though trip is just a noun, travel is more often a verb. It still would be redundant to use both in the same sentence.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Right. I more often hear, I'm taking a trip.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right. Going on a trip. Taking a trip. But we wouldn't say, I'm traveling on a trip later. No, we wouldn't use traveling on a trip.

[Lindsey McMahon]

No, that's doubling up one or the other.

[Aubrey Carter]

Make a choice. Totally.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Right, right, right. And then number three is journey. This is a noun. And this one is more fun. Right. Because it adds a dreaminess. What is the connotation here?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. So this is interesting. It can be about travel. It can be a usually a longer, more significant, maybe transformative travel experience. If someone says, I went on a journey, travel for three months. But we also could say, just, I went on a trip for three months. Often journey isn't actually used about travel. Right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes. Yes. I love this. This is going be. Can be more of a metaphor. Right? We're speaking metaphorically. Like in the Connected Communicator course, our listeners go on what we call a journey to fluency. And in that course, it actually is literally a trip by car, with me, by V on video. Video lesson. 12,000 miles around the US you get to do that, but then you're also going on a journey to fluency and then sometimes we could say we're going on a personal journey to enlightenment or something. Right, Exactly. Different places.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, that's such a good example. Because you went on the road trip. Right. But you're bringing everyone with you on your journey, on their journey because they're learning English, they're meeting all of these interesting people, hearing these conversations. We would call that a journey. There was more to it than just the road trip.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, exactly, exactly. So, for example, tell me about your English learning journey, like we said. Or what would be another sample sentence, Aubry.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, you might say, oh, my education was quite the journey. And so these. This really has nothing to do with travel. It's another word for experience. It was quite the experience. Especially in this case. It might have been really negative. There might have been a lot of pitfalls, like, oh, it was quite the journey. Meaning, like there were some negative things that happened.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Exactly. And that's the implication. I know when you say that, okay, you've had some ups and downs in your education. Something's happened. Maybe you've overcome it. Almost like a movie script, kind of.

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly right. I wouldn't say this if it were very straightforward. Everything was easy, I finished on time. Then I wouldn't call it a journey. Especially the. With the quite, Quite the journey. I'm implying that it was out of the ordinary.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. We could potentially do another episode just on this word. As a concept, as a metaphorical concept. Something. Sometimes we say, you know, this person's on his own journey. It's a way. If maybe they're doing something we disagree with and we see kind of a train wreck happening. And we might say something very positive like that to.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right. This is a really funny sort of critical thing that we'll say be like, oh, that's not my journey. Or he's on his own journey. That's a great idea. Hit follow, guys. We need to do that follow up episode for sure.

[Lindsey McMahon]

That's going to be a fun one. All right, Aubrey, what else do we need to know here?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, we just want to point out journey is used as a verb, but it's a little bit outdated. I will see this in older books, maybe the classics. He journeyed to a far off destination, using it as a verb. You'll rarely hear this now in spoken conversation. We don't use it really in common speech, at least not in the U.S. yeah, so true.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I love that. So we need to know what words are in fashion. What are we using now? And now it's just more of a noun. Really?

[Aubrey Carter]

Right now? Now it's a. Took a trip, traveled somewhere.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, for sure. Okay. I have learned after so many years as an entrepreneur that speed matters when it comes to hiring, but so does quality. You need the most qualified person on your team fast. Stop struggling to get your job post seen on other job sites. Indeed's Sponsored Jobs helps you stand out and hire fast. With Sponsored Jobs, your job post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster. And it makes a huge difference. According to Indeed data, sponsor jobs posted directly on indeed have 45% more applications than non sponsored jobs. Hiring for me in the past has felt overwhelming. Managing all of the incoming applications, making sure you write the job ad in a way that attracts top talent. That's what I love about Indeed. It speeds up the process and makes it easier. There's no need to wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed and listeners of this show will get a of Sense 75 sponsored job credit. To get your jobs more visibility@ Indeed.com AEE, just go to Indeed.com A E E right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com a e e that's I n d e e d.com a e e. Terms and conditions do apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need. All right, Aubry, role play time. Talking about upcoming trips. Yay. My favorite topic. Okay.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. Want to start us out?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes. You said you're traveling to the Philippines this year, right?

[Aubrey Carter]

I did have a trip planned there to visit a friend, but she's actually moving back to the States.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, bummer. Was she living there long?

[Aubrey Carter]

A couple of months. Her grandparents are from there, so she was on a journey to see where they grew up.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Nice. And sometimes people will do this. They'll visit, you know, the land of their grandparents or their parents. And that is. That's also a metaphorical use, right? It is an actual trip. It's a journey, but it's also an inner journey.

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly right. Because you're trying to find out your roots, where your ancestors lived, what life was like for them, your history. That would be considered a journey. This reminds me of the movie A Real Pain. Did you see that? It won a bunch of Oscars. It's with Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

I highly recommend it. They go. They're Jewish. Their grandma was from Poland. And they go to have this journey to see where she lived. And they visit an actual concentration camp. Wow. And so this is the only time I have seen real footage inside a concentration camp because I haven't had the chance to visit them. It's very sobering. But the. The film is really quite beautiful. I definitely recommend it.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I'll check that out. Good. Good movie recommendation. All right, let's go through our role play. Aubry, what was the first thing I said here?

[Aubrey Carter]

All right, you said, you said you're traveling to the Philippines this year, right. So you could say you're taking a trip to the Philippines, but we can use the verb here. You're traveling to the Philippines this year, right?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yep. Good. And then you said, I did have a trip planned there to visit a friend, but she's actually moving back to the States. Okay.

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly. And notice we don't ever see them both. Right. You wouldn't say, I did have a trip planned to travel to the Philippines. Right. If you have one, you've already. That's already implied that there's travel involved when you say trip. So you wouldn't use them both.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Good. And then what. What's the last thing we said?

[Aubrey Carter]

I said she was on a journey to see where they grew up. Right. So this is, like you said, this is a journey about, you know, more what's happening inside you, your thoughts, your. You know, it's more of an experience.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. And I think the biggest mistake to watch out for. I have heard non native speakers use the word journey when they. When really the word would be trip that we're looking for. Or even sometimes I'll see on websites that have been translated from another language into English. Or even different airlines will sometimes say journey. And you can. You can get away with it. It works. We get it. But trying to throw in their trip, your trip would also be kind of modern, right?

[Aubrey Carter]

Absolutely. And you might see this in, like we were saying in older books, Right. The Odyssey, they might say he. He went on a journey. Right. We just don't say that much anymore. It's really a little bit outdated, antiquated. There are ways that we would say this now that are. Are much more updated.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. Or even like international airlines that have translated their apps into English or something. You might see this for sure. So super interesting. Important to be relevant. Aubry, what's the connection skill? We know what it is, right? Absolutely.

[Aubrey Carter]

People love to talk about recent trips they went on or upcoming trips. If you have co workers in English or friends, anyone. This is such a great connection skill to ask them about a trip they planned. Travel coming up. So fun.

[Lindsey McMahon]

So good. Well, enjoy the Hiawatha Trail. Can't wait to hear the stories Aubrey when you get back.

[Aubrey Carter]

All right, absolutely. Awesome. Thanks guys. This was fun. Enjoy your upcoming trips. Hopefully you all have some fun summer plans for sure.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, talk to you soon.

[Aubrey Carter]

Awesome. Thanks Lindsay.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Bye bye. Thanks for listening to all ears. English Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com forward/fluencyscore and if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.

[C]

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